Maternal Instinct
by Iknowyoulovemexoxo
Summary: You have one struggling recent College graduate and one married Father who is unexpectedly landed with fully taking care of a newborn baby whilst juggling his job. Can the College graduate be the help the Father needs or will she just cause him more problems than she solves?
1. Chapter 1

Shortish first chapter just to kind of get the story started and see what people think so feel free to throw some feedback my way.

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Being awoken by his young daughter's cries Paul rolled over in bed rubbing the sleep from his eyes before he opened them and they immediately settled on his wife getting dressed, "what are you doing?"

"Getting dressed? What does it look like I'm doing Paul?"

Glaring at her he shook his head, "don't get smart with me. Why are you getting dressed in a business suit?"

"Because I'm going to work. What are you? Stupid?"

Throwing the covers from his body he stood up, "you barely had our daughter two weeks ago and you're already going back to work? Are you out of your mind? I thought you were staying home to look after out daughter."

Rolling her eyes she grabbed her brush to tie her hair back, "no, you just assumed I would stay home. Keith called last week, he said if I went back to work then there is a promotion with my name on it, you know the promotion I have been working my ass off for years to get."

"And what about Chloe?"

"What about her? You're here aren't you? It's not like I wanted a kid to begin with."

Groaning as their daughter's cries got louder he shook his head, "stay here, I just need to go and get her and we will finish this conversation."

Quickly hurrying out of the bedroom to the nursery he smiled scooping Chloe up into his arms and pressing a soft kiss to the top of her head, "it's okay, Daddy's here now. We will just talk to Mommy and then we will get you your breakfast."

Turning around he exited the nursery and as he turned to go back to the Master bedroom he heard the front door slam and he shook his head muttering, "Megan this is not over by any stretch of the imagination." Spinning on his heel he headed downstairs to prepare and feed his daughter her breakfast.

Stephanie jumped as she stepped under the shower only to be greeted by ice cold water, "the fucking hot water is on the blink again?! What is this shit hole?"

Showering her body at the speed of light she jumped out before she dried herself off and got dressed but leaving her top off as she walked to the kitchen and boiled the kettle, she was not giving herself frost bite just because she needed to wash her hair this morning before work.

She as just pulling the plug on the water in the sink and wringing the water out of her hair when the phone started to ring, "god-dammit, I will kill whoever is on the other end of the line."

Quickly grabbing her towel she attempted to wrap it around her hair as she hurried to pick the phone up, "hello?"

Dropping the phone accidentally as she secured the towel she quickly picked the phone up again, "sorry about that, I dropped the phone by accident. Who did you say you were?"

Linda shook her head at her daughter, "your Mom. What were you doing that you dropped your phone?"

"Just fixing the towel in my hair, the hot water is broken again so I had to wash my hair in the sink and I have just finished. What can I do for you Mom? I really have to finish getting ready for work soon otherwise I will be late."

Playing with the piece of paper in her hand she knew she was doing the right thing by her daughter, "I just called to see if you had a teaching job yet?"

Sighing heavily Stephanie made her way the short distance through her apartment to her bedroom to plug in her hair dryer and get her brush, "no Mom. I'm looking every night after work and when I'm not in early I'm looking before work, I have sent out numerous resumes to different schools in the area and have heard nothing back but I'm not giving up."

"Maybe you should. Stephanie you can't continue to live in that apartment as it is bad for your health and unless you get a teaching job then you won't be able to afford to move out. I'm doing this because I love and care about you but I have spoken to the headteacher at the local school and they said they are looking for a new Kindergarten teacher for the new year and they would love to interview you for the post. I have their e-mail address for you but there is a time limit on this of two weeks so you have two weeks to find a teaching job there or I expect you to interview for this job and take it if offered to you which I am sure that it will be."

Dropping the comb she pulled the phone from her ear briefly staring at it before she put it back to her ear, "you what?"

Frowning Linda shook her head, "you heard me. You have two weeks to find a job in New York or I expect you back in Ohio."

Not wanting to continue this conversation she shook her head, "well I have to finish getting ready for my job, goodbye Mom."

"I will e-mail you the details."

Not even answering the last statement she just hung up the phone and tossed it onto the bed before she turned her attention to getting ready for work as she had ten minutes less time to do so than she had before her Mom rang.

Quickly pulling her worn denim jacket on she grabbed her bag rushing out of the front door to catch the bus and begin her journey to work so she wasn't late and didn't lose her job as this was the only real excuse she had right now not to go home to Ohio and that was the last place she ever wanted to be again.

After feeding Chloe Paul burped her before he lay her down in his arms, "it's a good thing that Daddy is working from home this week because otherwise you would be coming to building sites with him and I don't think you'd like that."

Chloe just lay there staring up at her Dad gripping his finger as he slipped it into her hand. All she wanted and needed was food and to know her parents loved her so laying here in her Dad's arms she was very happy.

Staring at his daughter as she gripped his finger he stroked the back of her hand with his finger watching her, he did not understand why his wife didn't want to be at home enjoying these moments when she was so young. Before they knew it she would be all grown up and Megan would have missed out completely and if it was him he would never be able to forgive himself if he did that but she just didn't seem to care at all and he just didn't know why. He thought about her possibly having Post Natal Depression but ultimately he was confident it wasn't that, she just had no maternal instincts and didn't care.

He couldn't do this alone not when he had his own business to take care of and jobs already piled up to the top of his head. He could only hope that she would go to work today and realise what she was missing out on and would decide that she did want to be at home with their daughter so things could go back to being how they discussed that they would be and if not he didn't know what he would do or how he would cope.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you to everybody for the absolutely phenomenal reaction to the first chapter. I may have procrastinated slightly over posting this chapter but I hope you enjoy it :)

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She was late for work now after her Mom's phone call so as she raced through the streets she hoped that she didn't get fired as that really would put an end to her plans to stay in New York. Reaching the café she pushed the door open and slipped inside feeling even guiltier as she watched her boss doing her work.

Looking up when he heard the door open he was so relieved to see the woman in front of him, "Stephanie, I was so worried about you."

Walking over to her boss she smiled softly, "I am so sorry I am late. My Mom rang and she kept me on the phone and I'm sorry, I will make it up later."

Looking at her like she was crazy he shook his head, "don't be silly baby girl. You work your ass off every day you are here and you are only ten minutes late so I am not going to deduct your wages or make you work longer. Is everything with your Mom okay?"

Groaning she rolled her eyes as she shrugged off her jacket and draped it over one of the chairs as she put her purse on that chair also before she took the tray from her boss, "yes thank you Gino, everything is fine. She is just sticking her nose into my life as normal but nothing I can't handle."

Smiling at the young woman Gino nodded his head, "I am pleased everything is okay. I am going to go back out to the kitchen to make a start on the dough for the pizzas as I have already done the pasta and Mrs Gino is bringing the sweets over in the next hour so if you need me you know where I am."

Nodding her head she watched as he picked up her purse and coat to take them and put them away safely for her, "thank you Gino, you're the best."

Waving at her as he walked away she was like a daughter to him and he knew the day she left it would be like a massive hole was created in the business and a lot of hearts would be broken, especially his own, but he was so proud of her and how far she had come he was like a proud Papa.

Focussing entirely on her job at hand she had to get it all done and set up before the café opened in twenty minutes.

The other waitress had called in sick ten minutes before her shift which left Stephanie to deal with the lunch rush all by herself but luckily for her Valentina, Gino's wife, stayed around to run the register for her so she could focus on taking the customers orders and delivering them to their tables.

The lunch rush had died down and things were now steady but she was still yet to have time for a break but she didn't mind because she had forgotten her lunch and she didn't have the money to buy some. Setting the latest table's meals in front of them she smiled politely, "enjoy your meal." Turning around to go back to the counter she smiled as she saw her best friend and Godson enter the café loving the way he immediately ran to her so she bent down to hug him, "hey there little man."

Jade shook her head at her son, "Tyler, what have I told you about running to Auntie Stephanie whilst she is working? You know you can't do it because there's hot food, hot drinks and a dangerous environment."

Tyler pouted, "sowwie."

Stephanie smiled at her best friend as she stood back up, "so is this a flying visit to say 'hi' or are you here to order something?"

"We're here to have a milkshake and a muffin as a reward for Tyler being a very good boy in Kindergarten today."

Taking Tyler's hand she led them over to a table right by the window, "why don't you guys sit here and I will take your order."

Helping Tyler into his seat Jade then sat down, "we'll have one coffee, one strawberry milkshake and one chocolate muffin please."

Making a quick note of that Stephanie then went to make the order.

Valentina had gone back into the kitchen to see how her husband was doing and smiled as she watched him instructing one of the line cooks how to make the pizza the 'correct' way, "Gino."

Turning to his wife Gino smiled, "what did I do?"

"Stephanie hasn't had a break yet."

His eyes widened in surprise, "you must make her. If the State finds out we could be closed down, tell her that."

Nodding her head Valentina exited the kitchen just in time to see Stephanie making coffee, "Stephanie, you need to take your lunch break. Gino said if the State finds out they could close us down."

Sighing softly she wasn't going to get them in trouble, "I will just take this order to my friend's table. Is it okay if I sit with them?"

"Of course dear, just don't do any work."

Smiling politely she made two cups of coffee, a milkshake and got one of the special double chocolate muffins and put it all on the tray and carried it over to the table setting all of it down, "I hope you don't mind me joining you?"

Jade shook her head, "hell no. Sit down, I miss you."

Pulling out a chair she took a seat opposite her friend but next to her Godson, "so how are things?"

Shrugging her shoulders Jade couldn't complain really, "they're okay I guess. It's hard given that I had to drop out of College before I could finish my degree as I was pregnant but I'm going to look for jobs every day and I will find something. How are things with you?"

Sighing she shook her head, "awful. My apartment is a dump, there is no hot water **again** but I can't afford anything better, I can't get a teaching job and to top it all off my Mom called this morning to say that if I don't find a job in the next two weeks she has already spoken to the headmaster of the local Elementary school at home and there is a job there for me and she expects me to take it."

Shocked by what her best friend had just said she had heard how much her Mom hated that Stephanie had left the state but she had no idea she would go that far to get her to come back, "you're kidding?"

Sighing heavily she shook her head, "I wish I was. As you can imagine I am now desperate for a job so if you see anything suitable **please** tell me. At this point I will probably take any job going but if it would actually somehow involve my degree it would be better."

"Of course, I will keep my eyes open."

Having received no food orders nor seen Stephanie Gino walked out of the kitchen to his wife, "what has Stephanie eaten for lunch?"

Valentina jumped a little at the sound of his voice, "nothing, she just has a coffee."

She had barely finished speaking before he was back in the kitchen and she just rolled her eyes, she loved the man to death but sometimes he made her crazy.

Walking into the kitchen Gino instructed his deputy to drop another serving of pasta for his own lunch as he checked on the pasta he had dropped a few minutes before and seeing that it was ready he started to plate up.

Once he had a plate of pasta and a knife and fork he carried it out of the kitchen and walked over to where Stephanie was sitting and set it down in front of her, "enjoy."

Jumping when the plate of pasta was placed in front of her she turned to look at Gino confused, "this was never ordered for this table."

"I know."

Looking at him strangely she was lost, "then maybe you should take it to the right table? I'm not trying to tell you how to do your job but I'm confused."

Realising he would have to be honest with her he said, "you haven't eaten since before you arrived, you must eat."

Trying to think of the best way to sugar coat the truth she said, "but . . . I can't accept this."

"Why not?"

Sighing heavily she decided to just be honest, "because I can't afford to pay for it."

A little shocked that she couldn't afford a less than twenty dollar plate of pasta Gino didn't let it deter him, "it's a good thing I wasn't asking you to pay for it then isn't it? It would hurt me very much if you were to refuse this plate of food, food is very important to me and it hurts when people turn down my food."

Nodding her head slowly she smiled politely, "thank you Gino, I appreciate your generosity and I love you dearly."

Smiling brightly realising she was going to eat it he kissed the top of her head, "I love you too, you are like a daughter to us and I want to take care of you."

Turning around he walked back to the kitchen to allow her to eat in peace pausing briefly to talk to his wife, "we need to make sure Stephanie eats here at least once a day and it is always on the house."

Valentina nodded her head, "is everything okay?"

Shaking his head he frowned, "she is wasting away on us, we must feed her up."

Chuckling lowly she smiled at her husband, "of course." Turning her attention back to the cash register she rang up the customer now stood in front of her.

As soon as Gino had left Jade gave her friend a stern look, "what's going on? Why can't you afford it?"

Sighing heavily as she twirled some pasta around her fork, "my cooker broke, I was going to cook on the hob or in the microwave for a few weeks/months until I could afford to buy a new one but it didn't turn out to be very practical so I had to buy a new one immediately and so currently when I do actually eat I am living on a diet of beans on toast and a cup of soup on the very rare occasion."

"Things are that tight with money?"

Nodding her head she hated admitting it, "things are that tight. I'll survive though, it will be better when I have a better job that pays more than Gino can afford. Let's change the subject though, I really don't want to dwell on my money issues or the fact that my Mom will force me to go home in two weeks if I don't get a better job."

The last thing Jade wanted was to lose her best friend so she was going to do her best to get her a job that would keep her in New York.

Paul had spent the day juggling his newborn daughter and his job. Luckily the phone calls he received from people they were incredibly understanding of his situation and allowed him some extra time when he explained that he would not let them down and he would get it done but he would have to sort the childcare issues out first but he would do it as soon as possible.

Looking at his watch as he walked down the stairs he sighed, his wife had left before eight o'clock this morning and it was going on for eight at night and she had not returned or even called to check up on the baby. With the baby monitor in hand he made his way into his office needing to do some more work now Chloe was down for the night and whilst he waited for Megan.

He had been so lost in trying to catch up on his work he lost complete track of time but when he heard the front door close he looked up at the clock shocked to see that it was past nine now. Getting up from his seat he quickly walked out of his office ready to confront his wife, "Megan, I have been waiting for you."

Jumping at the sound of his voice she spun around to face him, "Paul, I thought you would be busy with Chloe."

"She's asleep, I was catching up with work but we need to talk."

Rolling her eyes she shook her head at him, "what is there to talk about? I am going to get this promotion and you can do whatever you want with Chloe."

Looking at her like she was crazy he didn't know what to say, "so you have no interest whatsoever in our daughter."

"None at all. My career is incredibly important to me and that comes above everything just like yours always has."

Rubbing his temples they were going around in circles, "so what about my job? Originally you were supposed to be having the first six months off so all of my work is already scheduled for the next six months and I can't drag Chloe around to building sites with me."

Shrugging her shoulders she put her jacket over the bannister, "then employ a Nanny or something to look after her. I really don't care what you do, just leave me out of it."

Walking past him she went to make herself a cup of coffee before she went upstairs to do some more work.

Watching his wife walk away from him he gave in, there was no use fighting with her over it but hopefully she would come around in time and would want to be involved in her daughter's life.


	3. Chapter 3

After his wife had gone into the kitchen Paul made his way up the stairs to check on Chloe. As he got halfway up the stairs he heard her starting to cry and smiled softly realising he had made the right decision in checking on her before he sat down to do some research.

Once Chloe was settled and was fast asleep again he went back downstairs and sat at his computer closing his work and opening up an internet browser and immediately searching for 'what to look for in a Nanny?'.

After reading a lot of useful websites on the best thing to look for in a Nanny for your children he knew what he needed now so then he searched for agencies in the area that supplied Nannies.

Staring at the piece of paper with the numbers of the agencies on he couldn't help but think about what he read on one of the websites about finding a Nanny that was a good fit for you as a family, somebody that you felt fit with your way of parenting and not just somebody who had the necessary qualifications. With those thoughts ringing in his ears he opened up his word processor and began to write:

_Nanny sought for working family with young child. Must be polite, friendly and have a good sense of fun and adventure. A driving license and all necessary qualifications and first aid training are important. Open interviews are being held on Wednesday 17th April at 10 Sycamore Drive, Manhattan. Please arrive for 1pm._

Once he had the advertisement written he felt better, he knew there was little chance of him finding the right person in the job centre but he wanted to make sure all bases were covered because he would hate to miss out on the right person just because he went to agencies only.

Printing off the advertisement he set it beside the computer with the list of numbers for the agencies before he turned off the computer and went up to bed not caring where his wife was or what she was doing, he needed sleep because he would be up multiple times through the night with Chloe before he started it all over again tomorrow.

After having her lunch break Stephanie had gone back to work working the evening shift aswell before she made her way home just after ten. Arriving home she was exhausted as it had been quite a busy evening so she just crawled into bed rather than fixing herself something to eat. She would have to be up early in the morning to check out jobs online because she was too tired to do it tonight.

Early the next morning Paul was up with Chloe so instead of having a lazy start to the morning he got himself showered and dressed whilst she was happy in her crib before he took her downstairs to get himself some breakfast having already fed his daughter and having heard his wife leave at a ridiculous hour of the morning.

Once he had eaten and Chloe was dressed it was just after eight in the morning so he decided to head over to the job centre so he was there when it opened so people had all day to see the advertisement.

Standing outside the job centre he smiled at the woman who opened the door, "a bit keen aren't we?"

"I actually came to place an ad."

Stepping back she held the door open for him, "well follow me and we will get it set up for you."

Following her over to a desk he placed the ad down, "I wish to place this ad today please. I am in desperate need of a Nanny for my daughter so the interviews are being held tomorrow afternoon which gives a day and a half."

Picking up the ad she read it over, "the only thing you haven't mentioned is a salary."

"That's because I haven't yet decided on one, I need to do a bit more research on what the normal salary would be per hour so that is what I was going to do today."

Pushing a pen towards him she wanted it to be in his handwriting, "then please make it clear that the salary is to be determined so people are aware of what they are walking in to."

Scribbling down the words she asked for he handed it all back to her, "so will this now be put up?"

Smiling politely she nodded her head, "I will pin it up this second. Good luck, I hope you get what you are looking for."

Sighing he ran his hand over his head, "thanks, you and me both."

Turning around he left the building to go home and ring the Nanny agencies so they could send some people tomorrow also and then he would look for a salary.

Jade dropped Tyler off at kindergarten before she made her way to the job centre, she was desperate to find a job so she came here every single morning after she dropped her son off. Walking into the job centre she began looking around to see if there were any new jobs being offered with thoughts of Stephanie leaving if she didn't get a job herself in the back of her mind.

As she looked at the board she noticed a Nanny job that had not been there yesterday. Reading it closely she saw that the interviews were for tomorrow but it was the type of job Stephanie would be good at and it would mean she could stay in the area. Looking around her nervously she made sure that nobody was watching her before she quickly unpinned the notice and slipped it into her bag, she was desperate for Stephanie to stay and she would play dirty if she had to to make it happen. Once the advert was in her bag she went back to looking for jobs for herself.

Arriving home Paul got Chloe settled in the bassinet he had set up in his office yesterday before he took a seat at his desk to make his phone calls.

After speaking to the agencies he wasn't exactly filled with excitement, he wasn't getting the feeling from any of them that they would be a good fit for his family and that worried him because he needed someone like yesterday. As Chloe began to fuss he picked her up, "yes yes, I know you're hungry so give a guy a break because he is trying." Walking towards the kitchen he shifted her in his arms, "so Daddy isn't very confident the agencies are going to come through for him, they sounded pretty posh and Daddy wants you to have a normal upbringing not a sheltered silver spoon one."

Entering the kitchen he began to prepare her bottle one handed because holding her was keeping her somewhat calm which made things easier.

After she had checked out the jobs on offer at the job centre Jade had a few errands that she needed to run before she dropped by the café to speak with Stephanie and make sure she went to this interview. As she entered she noticed that she was busy with a table so she went and stood at the counter to wait patiently for her.

Having worked there for so long Stephanie had gotten into the habit of looking at the door every time somebody new entered and she noticed Jade entering and it made her nervous, she never came by on her own in the middle of the day like this. Taking her current table's order she put it into the kitchen before she began making drinks right where Jade was stood, "everything okay Jade?"

Nodding her head she wanted to wait until her friend was free so she could talk to her properly, "I just need two minutes of your time, I swear it won't take longer than that."

Sighing softly she rolled her eyes, "fine. Let me finish these drinks and then you have two minutes before I have to go back to work."

Turning her attention back to the drinks she was making she finished them all before she put them on the tray and carried them over to the table placing them down and promising their food would be with them shortly. Walking back to the counter she stood beside her friend, "what is it you need?"

Pulling the advert from her purse she held it out to her, "I got you this at the job centre."

Furrowing her brow she took the paper confused as to how she had it so neat as she read it over, "uh, you do realise this is a job for a Nanny right and I don't have any qualifications to be a Nanny?"

"I know I know. Are there actually any qualifications to be a Nanny though? You have first aid training, you have a degree in basically early education **and** you are absolutely fabulous with kids so why is it such a bad idea to try it?"

Playing with the paper in her hands she read it over, "I don't know Jade, there's not even a salary, what if it is less than I'm making here? How the hell did you get something so neat anyway?"

Smiling innocently she looked around, "I don't know, I may or may not have unpinned it from the board so nobody else could find out about it. As for your other question, there's no harm in going to the interview, you can ask the relevant question regarding salary there and you don't even know if you'll get the job but if you do then it will keep you here in New York, isn't that what you want?"

Sighing heavily Stephanie ran her hand over her hair, "I don't know." Suddenly there was a noise from the kitchen bringing her back to reality, "I've got to get back to work, I will think about it."

Not giving Jade a chance to answer she quickly hurried into the kitchen, "sorry Gino."

Looking up from the pan he was watching he looked at her strangely, "what's the paper?"

Quickly shoving it in her pocket she was nervous that he was about to fire her, "a job advert my friend brought in for me, I probably won't go for it though."

"What's the job?"

Biting down on her lip she was waiting for the explosion, "a Nanny."

Smiling softly he nodded his head, "you should go, you'd be good."

"But . . ."

Not allowing her to fight or argue with him over it he shook his head, "don't argue with me, there are plates that need to be taken to the diners and I want what is best for you and this is not it. You are wonderful with children, any child would be very lucky to grow up with you as their Nanny."

Blushing she nodded her head, "then I guess I will need tomorrow lunchtime off."

"It's a good thing my daughter has the day off then isn't it? Go, take these meals and I will talk to my daughter after lunch service."

Picking up the plates she carried them out to the dining room ready to tell Jade that she'd go for it but she had already left so she got on with her job.

Paul spent all day juggling Chloe and working on the salary he was going to offer the Nanny and then once he had that decided he set about writing a list of questions that to him were incredibly relevant to decide on who the right person would be to look after his daughter. As soon as he had the questions set he saved it to the computer so if he thought of anything else he could add them before he printed off a number of copies in the morning so he could write their individual answers down on them and be able to attach them to the resume's they brought with them.

Once he had finished working on the Nanny situation he moved his attention to the designs for the new shopping mall he had been instructed to create, the first draft was due by the end of Friday and he was only three quarters of the way done with it and unless he pulled all nighters and Chloe slept twenty three hours out of the day he would not get them done.

With Chloe in bed Paul took a break from working on the designs for the shopping mall to have some dinner, he was just putting his plate in the dishwasher when he heard the front door slam and he winced, if she woke Chloe he would kill her. Turning around he moved back to the table where the baby monitor was and picked it up listening carefully but was grateful to hear that she was apparently still asleep.

Setting it back down on the table he rolled his eyes as his wife came breezing into the kitchen, "what's for dinner?"

Looking at her like she was crazy he shrugged, "I don't know, whatever you make for yourself I guess. I have been busy setting up interviews for the Nanny and trying to get my own work done so I didn't make anything fancy so there are no leftovers for you."

Rolling her eyes she shook her head at him, "you're a pretty shitty husband. Anybody else would have dinner on the table for their wife after they had been out all day working hard to bring in money to the household."

"Are you actually serious right now? You do realise I have my own money and I have brought in probably at least a hundred times more in the past year than you have our entire relationship right? Our daughter's upbringing is a thousand more time more important than any money that you could bring in but you don't care about that do you because you're a selfish bitch. If you actually care anything about our daughter and want to appear like a good Mother the interviews for the Nanny are being held here from one o'clock tomorrow lunchtime so if you could spare the time for your daughter I'm sure she would appreciate it."

Crossing her arms over her chest she glared at her husband, "I have a job, I have meetings I have to attend, I can't just drop things on a whim for you or for her."

Rubbing his face wearily he felt his blood pressure rising, "of course you can't but I can just drop my commitments because you decided that being a Mother is too much like hard work for you and you bailed on our daughter can't I? I don't know who you are any more but one day you will be sad and alone and you will regret turning your back on your daughter."

Not in the mood to get into any more of an argument with her he picked up the baby monitor and went back to his office shutting the door firmly before he got on with his work and tried to ignore the pain he felt that his wife showed no interest in their daughter.

Arriving home early from work after Gino told her to go and get herself ready for the interview tomorrow she sat down at her laptop with her beans on toast and began reading over her resume making sure that it was perfect before she did some research on being a Nanny and then headed to bed. Tomorrow was going to be a massive day for her and she had to be perfect.


	4. Chapter 4

I have split this chapter in two otherwise it was going to be massive and I didn't want it to be too long for people to read so I hope you don't mind.

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Paul had been up since early with Chloe and had spent the morning being productive cleaning the lounge and the second lounge where he would get everybody to wait whilst he interviewed them one by one. Arranging the chairs so there were plenty of space for people to sit and get around each other he then moved his attention back to the lounge and where he would place the bassinet and upon deciding to put it right beside the chair he would be sitting he made his way back to his office to print off the questions and to try and get some more work done before practically his entire afternoon was lost to interviews for a Nanny.

Sitting down in his office chair after printing off the questions he began to work but as soon as he did Chloe began to cry. Groaning he made sure he saved his work before he went to see what had her so grizzly right now but as he settled her in his arms after checking if she needed a diaper change and knowing she didn't need feeding he then lay her back down and she began to cry again. Realising it was highly unlikely he would get any more work done he moved the bassinet through to the lounge and decided to spend his morning with her.

Stephanie was up going through her limited closet. She needed to put together the right outfit that said professional but was also down to earth and relaxed. Settling for a pants suit with a vest top it was the perfect mix of the two looks. Now she had her outfit sorted she could go back to checking her resume making sure she hadn't missed anything last night after going though it after work.

Once she had her resume printed off she began panicking and rang Jade, she would talk some sense into her. Listening as the phone rang she was about to give up when it was answered, "Jade! I need your help."

Laughing at the panic in her friend's voice she wondered what drama she had got herself in to, "what have you done now?"

"I'm getting ready for the interview but I don't know if I'm doing it right. I have printed off my resume and have not embellished it at all because I want to be in with a good chance of getting the job."

Confused Jade shook her head, "wait, what job? I'm confused."

Rolling her eyes she sat down on the bed, "the Nanny one. I don't even know where the hell I am going, what I'm walking in to or anything. Jade I am freaking out here."

"Take a deep breath and calm down Stephanie, you can do this so just relax. What are you going to wear? Have you tried planning a journey on one of those fancy sites?"

Taking a deep breath she inhaled and then exhaled slowly, "I've settled on a pants suit with a vest top because I figured that would be a nice balance between professional and relaxed." Turning to her laptop she balanced the phone between her shoulder and cheek and typed '_Journey planner for New York_', "okay I have found a journey planner so I will know how to get to this place, I just hope it's a serious job and it's not some sort of axe murderer."

Pulling the phone from her ear Jade checked that it was Stephanie she was talking to before she put it back to her ear, "okay now you're talking crazy. There is no way it would be in the job centre if it wasn't a serious job so just stop being silly. I like what you are going to wear though. Do your hair half up in a ponytail and half down because that is quite a relaxed style and if they test you with the baby then you can pick them up without having to worry about your hair and I would suggest either studs or small hoop earrings so little fingers can't be all grabby grabby."

Smiling she made notes of the buses and trains she had to take before she printed off a route map for where she had to walk as she listened to Jade talk, "this is why I rang you, you think of all of the practical things when I am stressing out and you keep my head focussed. I hadn't even thought about my hair or jewellery. My make-up is going to be really really light, apart from the fact that I can barely afford any the last thing I want them to think is I'm some made up doll who would care more about that than the child."

Jade felt like a proud parent listening to her talk so sensibly, "I'm so proud of you, you're being so sensible now, you've calmed right down and are really using your head. Is there anything else you need me for?"

"Hmm nope, I don't think so. Wish me luck."

"I don't think you will need any luck but good luck all the same and if they ask for references be sure to give them my name and number because I'll make sure they know how stupid they would be not to hire you."

Laughing Stephanie shut her laptop down, "only because you don't want me to leave so you will have to find yourself a new best friend and a new babysitter."

Rolling her eyes if it was anyone but Stephanie she would be mad, "you know it's not just because I don't want to lose you that I think you'll be good for this job right?"

Getting sensible again she nodded her head, "I know I know. Thank you for believing in me Jade, I appreciate that even when I don't believe in myself somebody else believes in me."

"It's what friends are for. Now I shall let you go so you can change and leave and be there on time. Good luck and I expect to hear all about it tonight."

"I can't tonight, I'm working. I'm going straight from the interview to work whenever I'm done so if you're in the area when you pick Ty up drop by the café and see if I'm there, I might not be but it's worth checking."

Hopeful that her best friend would be there she nodded her head, "sure. If not we'll talk tomorrow though. Good luck and I will talk to you soon."

"Thank you and goodbye Jade."

Hanging up the phone Stephanie turned to pack her work clothes in her bag before she placed her resume and the directions on the top of them and then went to change before she did her hair and make-up.

After having an early lunch Paul tidied up the kitchen and made sure he had all the coffee options on the top within easy reach along with a number of spoons and cups incase any of them wanted a cup of coffee during the interview. Before he knew it the doorbell rang at 12:40 and people began arriving.

It was ten minutes until the one o'clock deadline for the interviews and Stephanie was making her way down a semi-rural road following the instructions to go to her destination. Reaching the driveway of the house she was meant to be going to she turned and looked at the house from where she stood at the top of the drive, the house was so big you could probably fit her apartment in here about fifty times and it was intimidating. Whoever was looking for a Nanny clearly had a **lot** of money and suddenly she didn't feel like she had made the right choice in coming along, there was no way on any planet that they would employ somebody like her. She did think about turning around and leaving again but ultimately she had come this far so she may aswell go through with the interview as it would all be experience for her.

Walking up the long drive to the house she rang the doorbell and waited for them to answer it.

Having answered the door to all of the prospective Nannies so far and he had to say he didn't hold out much hope. Tickling Chloe's stomach as she lay in the bassinet staring at the ceiling he sighed softly, "unless a miracle happens I don't think I will be finding you a Nanny today but it's not one just yet so there's still hope."

When the doorbell rang again he left Chloe briefly to go and answer it. As he pulled open the door and came face to face with a beautiful young lady he couldn't help but stare at her because there was something so different about her, she was everything he wanted in a Nanny for their daughter, he could tell just by the way she looked.

The door opened and she came face to face with a large man both in height and in muscles which would be fine on any normal day but when he was just stood there staring at her it made her nervous and she was wondering if he was an axe murderer, "uh, I'm here for the Nanny interviews? Have I got the right house?"

Shaking his head to remove the cobwebs he nodded his head, "you have, I'm sorry about that. Do come in and take a seat in the room to your right and sign your name on the paper so I know who I am interviewing and in what order please."

Nodding her head she silently walked past him and entered the room he had mentioned but as she did she gulped, every single other person in the room was in a fancy suit with a posh little briefcase that probably held all of their certificates and their resume and here she was with a tatty old bag that her her work clothes for her actual job and her resume. As she looked at them all she was even more convinced after his reaction there was no way in hell that she was going to get this job but she signed her name on the sheet of paper and took a seat anyway.

After shutting the front door behind the latest prospective Nanny he watched her walk into the second lounge where everybody else was, there was something special about her, he could just feel it in the air. Turning around he walked back into the other lounge and walked over to the bassinet to check on his daughter and smiled when he saw that was asleep, he wasn't sure how long it would last as she had been grizzly all morning so she was probably coming down with something but he would take the quietness if it helped with the interviews. Sitting on the arm of the chair he ran his hand gently over her head, "there's one prospective Nanny here so maybe there is hope after all, I can hope anyway."

Keeping an eye on the time when one o'clock came he looked at his phone and saw no texts or messages from his wife which meant she didn't care enough about their daughter to take an afternoon off work to actually be there to have an input into the person that they were going to entrust their daughter with. Angrily throwing his cell phone onto the chair behind him he got up taking a few calming breaths making sure he had all of the papers with questions in front of him and a few pens incase one decided to stop working before he made his way to the second lounge.

Entering the second lounge he picked up the piece of paper and briefly scanned the names on the list before he started at the beginning with the first person who had arrived as that was only fair, "Philomena Ferguson you are up first. If you could follow me to the other room we will begin the interviews."

Walking back to the other lounge he waited for her to join him before he motioned to the couch, "please take a seat."

Shutting the door behind her he went to take a seat to begin the interviews to find out exactly how many of them reached his exact standards to see if he did find a suitable Nanny for Chloe today.


	5. Chapter 5

Letting the latest interviewee out of the front door Paul was losing the will to live, none of them were in the slightest bit warm and friendly and made him want to invite them into his home. As far as he was aware there was just the one more person to interview but that was the woman he had found himself oddly drawn to when she arrived.

Running his hands over his hair he rubbed his face wearily before he entered the second lounge he picked up the clipboard and smiled seeing an actual normal name, "Stephanie McMahon, you're up. I am Paul and I will be your host for this interview."

Smiling softly she picked her bag up and followed him as he walked through to the other lounge.

Taking note of her bulging bag he decided to break the tension a bit, "so I noticed you've got a bulging bag with you. Are you planning to move in today?"

Laughing she shook her head, "I'm not. I have to go from here to work so rather than going all the way home to change I just brought my clothes with me."

Pushing the door to he smiled softly, "good good, I would hate to think you were over confident about getting the job. Before we begin would you like a drink? I have a few options like water, milk, coffee and maybe something else but I would have to look in the cupboard."

"I would love some water please."

Nodding his head he could give her that, "I will get you some now. If you don't mind I'm going to get myself a cup of coffee, I'm desperate for a nap as I have NPD which most people would know as New Parent Disease which is basically lack of sleep."

Straightening out her jacket she put her bag on the floor, "not a problem, I'll just sit here quietly and wait for you."

Smiling politely he went to make himself some coffee whilst Chloe was still fast asleep.

Paul had barely been gone a minute when Stephanie heard the baby begin to whimper, she recognised that whimper from when Tyler was young and if she didn't get attention very soon the whimper would turn into an ear piercing scream. Biting her lip nervously she got up from her seat and walked over to the bassinet and carefully picked the little girl up and rocked her gently, "awww, don't cry pretty baby. I know your Daddy is a big fat meanie for abandoning you but he will be back."

Having got a bottle of water from the fridge and made himself a cup of coffee he walked into the lounge just in time to hear her call him a 'big fat meanie' and he couldn't resist the opportunity to tease her, "a big fat meanie huh? That's a new one on me."

Jumping at the sound of his voice she groaned, it was just her luck he would have heard it, "I didn't mean it, I was just trying to cheer her whimpering as she was doing the 'give me attention or I'll break all the windows' whimper."

Setting the drinks on the coffee table he carefully took Chloe from Stephanie, "and how would you know the difference in the whimpers? Have you had many Nanny jobs?"

"I've had no Nanny jobs before but my best friend has a little boy, he's now three, and I was there a lot when he was a baby and quickly learnt the difference between them all."

Smiling down at his daughter as she looked so content in his arms he lifted his head to look back up at the woman in front of him, "so back to the big fat meanie comment."

Gulping she shrugged, "I guess I can cross losing a job at the interview stage by insulting the boss off my bucket list. I will leave you to it but thank you for the opportunity."

Confused as he watched her turn to grab her bag he shook his head, "where are you going? If it's all the same to you I would actually like to complete the interview."

So desperate for a job and stressed out at the thought of leaving New York and going home she just expected the worst, "but I just insulted you, surely there's no hope for me now."

Sitting down on the chair he freed his one arm and motioned to the couch across from him not wanting to let her know he wasn't offended just yet, "but you have come so far, I may aswell interview you and at least you can say you finished the interview."

Sighing softly she left her bag on the floor and took a seat on the couch, "okay sure, I'm here so I may aswell go through with the interview."

Smiling he grabbed his notes from the coffee table, "so do you have a resume with you?"

Taking her resume from her bag she passed it over to him grabbing the bottle of water as she sat back down, "I am aware that I have no Nanny qualifications but I have First Aid qualifications and I am a qualified early years teacher."

Flipping through her resume he nodded her head, "so if you are aware of not having any experience why did you apply for the job?"

Confident that she wasn't going to get the job anyway she decided to be honest, "my Mom gave me two weeks to find a better job than my waitressing one, well technically she expected me to get a teaching job, or she expected me to move home to Ohio where she had got me a job there. I don't want to move home, I hate it there so my friend saw this job and thought I would be perfect for it, I wasn't going to come but my boss said I was perfect too so thought I would try my luck."

Nodding his head with his free hand he made a note of that, "so how much experience do you have directly with children?"

Biting her lip she knew it was nothing compared to all of the other women, "just that when I was on placement teaching and with my best friend's little boy. I would go to my classes and then I would go to hers and lend a hand with the baby as she was doing it all by herself as as soon as she told the Father she was pregnant he disappeared never to be seen from again and her parent's told her if she kept the baby they wanted nothing to do with her."

In some ways Paul wished Megan just walked out, "that is harsh, she was really lucky to have you."

Laughing softly she shrugged, "she was my best friend, I would do anything for her even when it involved getting two hours of sleep before placement because she was ill and so was the little one."

The commitment she had to her friend was impressive, "so what sort of commitment would you have if you got this job?"

Not entirely sure what he meant she shrugged, "I don't really know what you mean but I would give my everything, I . . . if you don't mind me asking where is the baby's Mom?"

Realising Chloe was fast asleep again he moved her carefully back to the bassinet, "Chloe's Mom is in work."

"How old is she?"

He didn't know why he felt guilty admitting this when it wasn't his choice, "nearly three weeks."

Confused she looked at him oddly thinking she'd misunderstood, "nearly three weeks what?"

"It is just nearly three weeks old. Before you say or think it I am fully aware that she should be home with Chloe, I **want** her to be home with her but she doesn't want to be. Back to the question though, what sort of commitment would you have."

Hearing him say that his daughter's Mother had abandoned her at less than three weeks old made her want to shake some sense into the Mom and protect Chloe, "you would have my full commitment. I would be willing to work whatever hours and days you need me, if you needed me to stay overnight at any point as long as I got some prior warning so I could have a change of clothes etc. with me then I would be willing to do it. I am fully aware I don't have the right qualifications but it's not always about what you learn, it's about the heart and passion you have and I am incredibly passionate about children and helping them to grow up to be the most well rounded person that they can be, shaping their young minds to learn about the world and to be knowledgeable about all sorts of things means everything to me."

This was the first interview he had conducted today that he felt like the person was truly passionate about taking care of children and helping them grow and it wasn't just a job to them, "so do you have a driving license and a car?"

"I just have a driving license, I don't have a car because as a struggling student it was too expensive to run and it was easier taking the subway. I can proudly say that I have a clean driving record though, I have never had so much as a speeding ticket."

Laughing he ticked that off his list, "I know you said you were willing to do overnights but would you be happy to be alone overnight or even for a couple of days? With my job right now because I hadn't planned to be entirely responsible for Chloe until she was six months old I have some jobs going on right now that may involve me being out of state for a couple of days overseeing construction, altering plans on site and such. I would hope that I wouldn't have to be away for days but I can't promise anything."

Smiling softly she nodded her head, "of course. I have no problem staying overnight or for a few nights if necessary. I have an iPhone so if you have one and you're away we could FaceTime, well you and Chloe would, I know she's only a baby but you could still feel close to her."

Apparently looking for a Nanny at an agency was a bad move, this was exactly the kind of person he wanted to be watching Chloe, someone kind and smart but who was willing to do anything for his daughter and was thinking of ways to keep him involved even when he was away. Looking at his list of questions he saw that she had answered most of them so there was just one more thing that he wanted to ask of her, "do you have any references I can contact? I am aware you haven't been a Nanny before but if I decide that you are right for the job I would like to check out your character and such from other people's perspective."

Chuckling she took a sip of her water, "don't worry, you can say it. You want to make sure I'm not an axe murderer."

Laughing he put her resume and a pen on the coffee table for her, "damn, you caught me out, yes I want to make sure you're not an axe murderer."

Putting the cap back on her bottle of water she took her cell phone out of her bag and scrolled down her contacts until she got to Gino and scribbled his name and the restaurant number and then wrote down Jade's name and number. Pushing the paper back across the coffee table she sat back, "I have given you my best friend and my current boss. With my current boss I have given you the number for the café because he is there all day from early until late so it is so much easier to get hold of him there." Confident that he wouldn't be contacting them anyway she felt like she had to say the stuff anyway just incase hell froze over and she got short listed for the job.

Taking the resume he put it back with the list of questions before he put it on the pile with the rest of them, "well thank you for that. Do you have any questions for me?"

Shaking her head she didn't feel the need to ask about a salary as she didn't think it would be any of her business, "I don't think so. Thank you or this opportunity and I am really sorry if I offended you earlier."

"You didn't offend me but thank you for making sure Chloe didn't start screaming, it was good of you to take it upon yourself to do that when others would have just said 'it's not my job yet so I'll let her cry'."

Moving to the edge of the seat she stood up and grabbed her bag, "no problem. Would it be rude to ask to take the water with me please? I'm straight to work from here so could really use it."

Smiling softly he waved his hand nowhere in particular, "no problem, go right ahead. If you are successful I will call within the next few days."

Nodding her head politely she reached to shake his hand before she picked up the bottle of water, "thank you for the opportunity."

Following him to the door she as about to leave but stopped briefly, "even if I don't get the job good luck with everything, I hope your wife realises how lucky she is to have such a supportive husband and such a beautiful little baby. Chloe is very lucky to have you and I hope she grows up to be a healthy and happy child. It was nice to meet you and thank you for this opportunity."

Listening to her talk it was incredibly genuine, "thank you. Even if you don't get this job good luck with your search and I hope you find something before you have to move back home."

Shrugging her shoulders she doubted she would, "thank you, it's unlikely but there's always Skype for me to keep in touch with my best friend and I can come and visit in the holidays and stuff. Goodbye Paul."

"Goodbye Stephanie."

Waiting until she was back on the road and was out of sight he shut the door firmly and went to check on Chloe. Walking over to the bassinet he saw her laying there wide awake and he knew exactly what she wanted as it was about the right time so he picked her up to feed her, "I think I have found you your Nanny, you will love her."

Walking into the kitchen he was determined to master the art of juggling the baby and fixing her a bottle at the same time.

Leaving the house she waited until she was out of sight before she took out her cell phone and decided to text Jade and put her out of her misery:

_It is safe to say I haven't got the job, I will explain when I see/speak to you xxx_


	6. Chapter 6

Taking the subway across town she beat herself up the entire journey to work, she couldn't believe she was stupid enough to insult her potential boss before she even had her interview. Getting off the subway at her station she silently made her way to the café needing to focus on work and try not to think about the fact that in about ten days she would probably be going home.

Entering the café she smiled softly at Sofia, "thanks for covering for me this afternoon, I really appreciate it."

Shrugging her shoulders as she put the drinks on the tray with some plates, "not a problem, always happy to help out when I am free. I've got to get these to my table so I will catch up with you later."

Nodding her head Stephanie pushed the kitchen door open and walked inside, "good afternoon Gino."

Looking up from his pasta sauce Gino smiled at the younger woman motioning for somebody else to take over the sauce as he walked around to talk to her, "how did it go?"

Sighing she frowned and shook her head, "not so good, I don't think I got it."

Wrapping his arms around her as he reached her he pulled her close for a hug, "well if you don't get the job then that is their loss. You're a good person and I don't look forward to losing you but I look forward to seeing your career just take off when you do."

Smiling she hugged the older man back, "thank you Gino, I love you."

"I love you too. You need to change though and get to work."

Laughing softly she smiled at him loving how he went from loving Father figure to boss in a split second, "I'm going to change now and get to work." Walking off she paused briefly turning back to him, "Gino, I gave you as a reference in the very unlikely event that I might get the job so he might call here to talk to you. I hope you don't mind because I really didn't want to give my Mom as a reference and you're like a Father to me so you were top of my list."

He would be more than happy to tell somebody how hard she worked and how dedicated she was, "not a problem, you can always give me out as a reference for your potential future jobs and I promise I won't lie just to keep you here. Now go, we all have work to do."

Quickly turning back around with a smile on her face she went to change.

After picking her son up from school Jade took him to the park to spend some quality time with him when she received Stephanie's text and she was disappointed, she really wanted her to get the job and to stay around. Deciding to skip cooking dinner tonight she was going to treat her son to pizza so she might be able to kill two birds with one stone.

Entering the café they took a seat in the corner of the room so they were out of the way and waited.

Slightly frustrated that Jade was there so she wasn't going to have time to really process it and come up with a decent lie or something to make herself feel better about the entire mess before she had to talk about it she was grateful that she was working so wouldn't be able to actually stop. Walking over to the table she took out her pad, "what can I get for you."

Tyler smiled brightly, "Auntie Stephy. Miss you."

Chuckling she bent down and kissed the top of his head, "missed you too baby boy. What can I get for you this fine evening?"

Jade shut her menu, "we would like a small cheese and tomato pizza, a glass of milk and a coffee please."

Writing it all down she nodded her head, "I will have it with you soon."

Turning around she walked back to the kitchen to put the order in. As she entered the kitchen she slid the order ticket over, "one small cheese and tomato pizza please."

Gino took it and placed the paper on the board, "it should be ready in about ten minutes but you my dear are due a food break if you're going to work until closing so what would you like?"

Sighing she fancied something for a change, "if I had a pizza could I take the leftovers home with me to eat later or tomorrow?"

"Of course, what else will I do with them? What kind of pizza would you like?"

Not having memorised the pizzas she shrugged, "just surprise me. I will pick the two pizzas up together and eat with my friend."

Turning back around she walked out of the kitchen to get the drinks together, including one for herself, and took them over to Jade's table, "looks like I will be joining you for dinner. I will be back with the food in about ten minutes."

Returning to her work she continued making sure it was running smoothly until the pizzas were cooked and she went and took a seat.

With Tyler occupied with his pizza Jade said, "so what happened?"

Sighing Stephanie picked at the meat on her pizza moving it around and just fiddling with it, "I insulted the really handsome Father of the three week old baby he was searching for a Nanny for."

Shocked Jade choked on the bite of pizza she had just taken as that was not her best friend, "you insulted him? What the hell did you say? What happened to the Mother?"

"The Mother is an insert swear word that I can't say around Tyler, she's back at work. Chloe was a little fussy but the fussy where she wanted attention so as he was in the kitchen I picked her up and just rocked her gently and said her Dad was a big fat meanie who had abandoned her."

Confused Jade just stared at her, "and? That is not an insult, you're entertaining a child and a lot of people say completely ridiculous things to children when they are trying to make them happy."

Sighing she pulled on her hair tightening it in the hair band, "he doesn't know me, I don't know him, for all I know he could think that I was the rudest person ever."

"Did he kick you out after you insulted him?"

"No, he interviewed me as this was before the interview even began."

Wiping Tyler's mouth with a napkin she sighed at her friend realising she was just panicked because she desperately needed this job, "well why don't you just relax and wait and see what happens in the next few days because you might be lucky or you might not be, only time will tell. If you don't get the job then there is still time to find another one and if you do get this job then you will be here and this panic will all be for nothing."

Rolling her eyes she sighed, "shut up Jade, I think I blew my chances and that's all to be said on the matter. If hell freezes over then you should get a call for a reference but I wouldn't hold your breath on that as you will probably die in the process of waiting."

Smirking Jade would take great pleasure rubbing it in to Stephanie if she did get a phone call looking for a reference for her.

After feeding Chloe Paul burped her and then lay her back down briefly whilst he moved the chairs around in the second lounge taking out the extras putting them back where they belonged and making sure it was all tidy again before he returned to spend some quality time with Chloe.

When his daughter fell back to sleep he looked through all of the resumes and the answers to the questions that he had asked and narrowed it down to a top three to show Megan to get her input so it was a joint decision on the Nanny they employed for their daughter. He had a feeling that his wife wouldn't care who the Nanny was but he felt like he had to give her the opportunity because if he didn't he knew he would never hear the end of it but he most certainly had his favourite candidate and he was going to fight for her.

After giving Chloe her dinner he was laying on the floor with her laying on a mat staring at the ceiling as he tickled her belly when he heard the front door slam, "look Chloe, Mommy's home early."

Quickly standing up he scooped his daughter up making sure she was with him so he knew she was safe as he went to confront his wife. Picking the papers up from the couch as he walked past he walked out into the foyer to see Megan hanging her coat up, "you missed the interviews but at least you're home early tonight so we can discuss the Nanny and maybe you can give Chloe a bath and put her to bed."

Looking at her husband like he was crazy Megan said, "I don't have time to bath Chloe or put her to bed and I certainly don't have the time or the inclination to discuss the new Nanny with you. I do not care who you employ, you are the one who doesn't think they can handle taking care of our child by themselves so you can handle hiring someone all by yourself."

"But you are home really early compared to every other night this week."

Nodding her head she knew she was, "I know I am. I am only home early because I have to pack and prepare as I have an early flight in the morning as I have a meeting in Chicago tomorrow afternoon and will probably be there all weekend."

Staring at his wife he couldn't believe the words that were coming out of her mouth, "so you are explicitly telling me that I could employ an axe murderer to look after our daughter and you wouldn't care? You are also telling me that this business trip, your job, this damn promotion are all more important to you than taking half hour out of your evening to give your daughter a bath?"

She was relieved that he was finally getting it, "exactly. I really don't care who you get to look after her, as long as it's not me it doesn't matter to me. As for this trip and my job being more important than giving her a bath, you're damn right it is, I can't risk losing this promotion just to give her a bath. I am so glad that you are finally understanding it all and seeing things from my point of view, you're such a good husband." Leaning up she kissed him on the cheek before she went hurrying up the stairs to pack for her trip to Chicago for the weekend, she wasn't originally meant to be going but she was definitely going to make the most of her opportunity and prove what an asset she was to the company, how far she would go for the company and how good it would be for them to promote her.

After his wife kissed his cheek he stood there stunned watching her as she walked away from him, he actually couldn't believe what had just happened. Shaking the cobwebs free from his head he looked down at Chloe in his arms, "did that really just happen?"

Chloe's only response to her Dad was to kick her legs in his arms and coo happily at the attention he was giving her.

Smiling at his daughter he loved it when she reacted to the sound of his voice, "it looks like if the references work out then Stephanie will be your new Nanny. I think you'll like her, you definitely liked her earlier when she picked you up. I guess I should give you a bath and put you to bed and then tomorrow I will call the references because it will be far too late to call them tonight by the time I get you into bed."

Walking back into the lounge he carelessly tossed the papers onto the couch before he shifted Chloe in his arms and headed upstairs.


	7. Chapter 7

I just want to say thank you for all of the incredible support and feedback so far, it means the world to me :)

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Once Chloe was fast asleep and settled in bed Paul made himself some dinner before sitting down at the computer and getting on with his work again to at least try and get this done before his deadline or he'd have to beg for an extension.

He had been so desperate to finish it he had paid no attention to the time and only really looked at it when he heard Chloe crying over the monitor and when he looked at the time he groaned, it was past midnight which meant he was going to get very little sleep. Quickly saving his work he abandoned turning the computer off for the night and quickly warmed up the feed he had already prepared for Chloe before he took the bottle upstairs to feed her and then get her back to sleep.

As soon as his daughter was fast asleep he crawled into bed to get a couple of hours before she had him up again.

Before Paul knew it it was six am and his daughter was wide awake. Rolling over he wasn't surprised to see the side of the bed where his wife normally slept empty, nothing about her surprised him any more. Rolling out of bed he went to begin the day the best way possible, with a cuddle with his baby girl.

Two hours later and he had actually fed and dressed Chloe and managed to feed himself and get showered and dressed. Staring at the clock he wondered if it was too early to call the best friend, he knew she had a little one so she would probably be up but would she actually be free? Deciding to just try his luck he went to grab the papers and a pen to make the most of Chloe being settled quietly.

Jade was not having the best day, actually she would probably rank it as one of the worst in a long time and it wasn't even nine o'clock in the morning yet. Firstly Tyler had decided he did not want to go to school today so he made her life as difficult as possible whilst getting him ready and then her parents rang deciding that they now wanted to be 'Grandparents of the Year' but for her it was three years too late.

With her son watching cartoons for five minutes whilst she finished getting ready she was just finishing tidying up when her cell phone rang, looking at the screen and not having any idea who it was calling she put it to her ear, "whatever you're selling I'm not buying."

Shocked by the reaction he didn't really know what to say, "uh, I'm not selling anything."

"Well that's one less reason for me to hang up on you. What do you want if you're not selling anything? I don't know the number."

Leaning his arm on the back of the couch he loved the spunk this woman had, "I actually called to talk about Stephanie, I wanted to get your thoughts on her."

Before she even asked why he was asking she started to gush, "she's the best, she is the most amazing best friend a girl can ask for. Stephanie is so warm and kind and generous and . . . wait, you're not like some weird creep are you?"

"Weird? Quite possibly, a creep? Definitely not I am afraid. My name is Paul Levesque and she interviewed to be my daughter's Nanny so I was just calling her references."

Unable to stop herself she squealed with delight, "oh my God, she might actually get the job?!"

Laughing at her response he smiled, "providing her references work out she will yes. Don't tell her I said this but she was the most down to earth applicant I had and she was everything I would want in somebody watching my daughter. Why are you so happy about it?"

Realising that he probably thought she was a few sandwiches short of a picnic she reigned in her excitement, "Steph is my best friend, she is like the sister I never had. When I was pregnant and my family and my boyfriend abandoned me she stayed right by my side and was there for every scan and every Doctors appointment whilst juggling her degree. After I had Tyler she was still there for me whenever I needed her, she would always be here lending a hand making sure I was resting and eating properly and even now I know she is just on the other end of the phone to call if I need her like I did a few weeks ago when both myself and my son were ill and I was calling her at three in the morning to help she didn't complain she was just here. Her Mom gave her two weeks to find a job otherwise she would have to go home and I was terrified of her leaving, I don't know if I could do it alone."

Smiling softly as he heard her talk with such passion about her relationship with Stephanie and how important she was to her made him confident in his decision, "so how is she with babies and kids then? Try to be as unbiased as you can be please."

Taking a moment to think as she put her son's lunch box in his backpack she need to be unbiased, she couldn't cost her this job, "she is really good with them, she is gentle and kind and loving towards them. She always seems to know what they want to keep them happy when they're babies and when they're older she is amazing, I don't think she realises it but she makes everything a lesson for them but not in a teacher sort of way. I've been so distracted I haven't even had chance to tell Steph that my son's teacher says he is way ahead of his classmates in a lot of ways and I genuinely think that is her influence on him and on me as a Mother. I know this is unbiased but I genuinely don't think you could pick a better Nanny for your daughter but I'm not saying this because I want her to stay in New York, I'm saying it because I genuinely believe it."

Putting a tick next to Jade's name on Stephanie's resume he had heard everything he needed to hear, "well thank you Jade, you have made my decision a lot easier. Good luck with everything and thank you again for your time this morning."

Not sure if that was even a good response or not she hated that she would now have to wait for him to tell Stephanie his decision, "you're welcome. I hope I helped in some small way. Goodbye Paul."

"Goodbye Jade."

Both hung up with Jade then in a rush to get her son to school and Paul clock watching trying to decide on the best time to call Stephanie's current boss.

Shoving Tyler's lunch into his bag she walked into the lounge and turned the television off, "we have to leave right this second."

Looking at his Mom strangely she seemed in a rush, "we late?"

Nodding her head she reached her hand out towards him, "we're very late. Mommy was taking a phone call to help Auntie Stephy stay here in New York with us so now we need to hurry."

Deciding not to argue with his Mom any more this morning he took her hand and walked with her as she grabbed his bag and led him out to walk to school.

It was only when her son was safely walking through the school gates did Jade pull out her phone and send Stephanie a text about her phone call:

_OH MY GOD HE CALLED ME! P.s. This isn't about me._

Sending the text she went about her daily routine of checking for new jobs at the job centre.

Stephanie had barely slept as she kept going over the previous day in her head wishing she had done so many things differently. When it reached seven in the morning and she wasn't even dozing any more she just got up and decided to spend what time she had before work searching for all sorts of jobs, including Nanny jobs.

She was just finished off her cereals without any milk when her cell phone beeped and she saw Jade's name and instantly rolled her eyes, she loved her best friend but right now she didn't need to hear her tell her everything would be okay, she wasn't the one being forced to go home to her family.

Almost against her better judgement she opened the text and was confused by all of the excitement:

_Some guy rang you about someone that wasn't you? It's too early and I didn't get enough sleep for this cryptic shit._

Receiving Stephanie's reply Jade laughed out loud ignoring the dirty looks she got from the people around her and sent her a reply:

_No, a Mr Paul Levesque rang me about you, you know the guy you interviewed for yesterday. Please tell me you've not forgotten already._

Reading Jade's reply she didn't know what to say to her, she didn't want to get her hopes up so just decided it would be for the best if she pretended that she hadn't seen it. Getting up from the table she dumped her bowl in the sink before she went to finish getting ready for work and headed out, she wanted to keep this job for now even if she'd have to quit next week one way or the other.

Arriving early like normal Gino was elbow deep in pasta dough whilst he waited for Stephanie to arrive. There was nothing more therapeutic than starting his day off with some pasta baking especially when he got to knead out any frustrations left from the day before.

It was half past nine now and Paul wondered if the owner of a restaurant would be in yet. Deciding to try his luck he decided to call the number and see.

He was laying the pasta sheets out ready to roll again when the phone began to ring, nobody normally rang this early but there was always the chance it was Stephanie saying she couldn't come in so he decided to answer it. Walking to the phone rubbing his hands on his apron as he went he picked it up off the hook, "Gino's Authentic Italian Restaurant. Gino speaking, how may I help?"

Despite knowing it was stupid and completely ridiculous seeing just an Italian name and a phone number on the sheet of paper had made Paul nervous incase it was some sort of mob boss, he knew there was no way it reasonably would be but just the thought gave him the creeps. As he listened to the phone ring he picked nervously at the couch but when the phone was answered as a restaurant he felt so much better, "oh hi. I have been given this number and the name Gino to speak with in regards to a reference for Stephanie McMahon as she has applied for a job as the Nanny to my daughter."

Slightly confused as Stephanie had told him it was unlikely he would get a call, "are you the person she interviewed with yesterday? She said it was unlikely I would get a call. Stephanie is like a daughter to me and the last thing I want to do is say something to put her in any sort of danger so I need to know you are for real."

The concern he was showing for her said a lot about the person Stephanie must be, "I promise you I am for real. My name is Paul Levesque and my daughter is three weeks old and I swear Stephanie did come to interview for the job yesterday. I am fully aware that she feels like there is no way she would get the job, her best friend Jade made that perfectly clear, but she was the best candidate so I am speaking with her references to see if I can formally offer her the job."

Gino felt that he knew too much to be anything but genuine so he decided to talk to him and help, "so how can I help you?"

"I just wondered what she was like as an employee? I know it's a different setting but one would think her work ethic would be the same in both careers."

"Stephanie is the most dedicated worker you could ever hope to meet, she arrives early in the morning and then doesn't leave until long after her shift ends. If you didn't force the breaks on her then she would more than willingly just work straight through. Stephanie is loved by everybody that she comes into contact with and is friendly and kind to everybody from the young children to the old ladies. I know it's your decision but in my opinion you couldn't do any better for a Nanny for your daughter."

Sighing softly the more he heard about her the more he was convinced his initial thoughts were right, "I know, believe me I know. When my daughter pretty much has no Mom from the second I met Stephanie I just knew she would be right for the job and apparently it is win/win for her best friend too as she will be sticking around. I will let you go though as I am sure you have a lot to do but thank you for your time Gino, it means a lot."

It was a win/win for Gino too if she stuck around because he didn't want her to leave the State, "my pleasure. When will you let her know if she got the job or not?"

"Uh, my daughter should be waking up really soon so I'll be preoccupied with her for a little but hopefully by lunchtime I'll be able to call her and tell her she got the job. Please don't tell her that she has the job though as I would like it to come from me."

Smiling softly he watched as she pushed the front door open, "not a problem. Maybe I will see you around here some day and if you do the food will be on the house but I will let you go now as she has arrived."

As much as he loved the idea of free food he could never accept it, "thank you for the offer. Goodbye Gino."

"Goodbye."

Hanging up the phone Gino smiled at Stephanie, "well good morning to you. Somebody is here extra early today."

Shrugging her shoulders she shrugged her jacket off, "I didn't really sleep last night so I decided to be productive and come in early and no, I don't want to be paid for it." Taking her phone out of her bag she went to turn it off.

Seeing that she was about to turn her phone off he didn't want her to miss that call, "why don't you leave your phone on and put it in your pocket? You don't want to miss it if you get a call back for that interview from yesterday do you?"

"I think there is more chance of my Mom changing her mind than there is of me getting the job but I guess as long as you don't mind it would do no harm keeping my phone on me."

Shaking his head he didn't mind at all as he knew better than she did, "I don't mind at all, just no other personal calls during work okay?"

Nodding her head she smiled softly and slipped her phone into her back pocket, "I promise. So where can I start helping you this morning?"

As he was a little behind from taking the phone call he decided she could help him in the kitchen, "the kitchen please. I'd love some help with the pasta seeing as you're extra early."

Closing her bag she nodded her head, "I will put this away and then I will be right with you."

Both of them walked into the kitchen to get on with work.


	8. Chapter 8

Once she had finished helping Gino in the kitchen Stephanie went and set up in the restaurant itself getting ready for the lunch rush.

The patrons had started to trickle into the restaurant but it was still pretty empty all things although there were some people there having an early lunch or just having a mid-morning snack before they went about their business again. This was the time of day she enjoyed, it kept her on her toes but it wasn't too busy and she got to properly converse with people when she took their orders.

Taking the order she smiled at the customers as her phone started vibrating in her back pocket against her ass, it was really off-putting as she tried to finish taking their order. The second she finished taking their order she walked away from the table and pulled her phone from her back pocket and looked at the screen confused as she didn't recognise the number at all, "hello?"

At Megan's baby shower she had received a mechanical swing for Chloe but not liking the look of it Paul had kept it boxed at the back of the cupboard but so close to a deadline and not getting much work done during the day because he had to focus on Chloe he decided to set it up and see if that would keep her occupied in his office whilst he did some work.

Twenty minutes after he had begun setting it up it was complete and it looked steady so he carried it into his office and placed it beside his desk so he could keep a close eye on Chloe as he worked. Returning to the lounge he picked a fussy Chloe up from the bassinet and took her into his office securing her into the swing and setting it going before he took a seat at his desk to do some work before he tried calling Stephanie.

It was just after eleven when he decided to take a break from his work and stopped the swing picking Chloe up to have a cuddle with her whilst he hopefully talked with Stephanie. Contemplating putting the phone on speaker and keeping it on his desk he decided against it as Chloe was settled on his lap cradled in one arm so he did have one arm free and he preferred not to use speaker phone unless he had to. Shuffling the papers on the desk with his free hand until he found what he was looking for he easily dialled her number before he put the phone to his ear.

Listening as the phone rang he smiled when he heard her answer, "good morning, I was looking to speak with Stephanie McMahon."

Pushing open the kitchen door she pushed the order across the top towards Gino, "this is she. Who may I ask is calling."

"Well now I am offended, you only saw me yesterday and already you don't remember me? It's Paul, you interviewed to be Chloe's Nanny."

Her eyes widened when he said that, "oh, I'm sorry Mr Levesque. I am at work and was a little preoccupied. What can I do for you?"

Groaning at her calling him 'Mr Levesque' he shook his head, "the name is Paul, 'Mr Levesque' is so old and so not me. As for what you can do for me, I was wondering if you were free maybe later today or tomorrow to finalise details of your employment?"

Stepping to the side so she was out of the way as one of the cooks tried to move around the kitchen she was confused, "finalise details of what employment?"

"The employment of you as Chloe's Nanny, that is if you still want the job. I have spoken with your references and they both gave glowing reports and your interview yesterday was exceptional and the sooner you can start the better."

Her eyes widened, she was sure she wasn't hearing him properly, "I don't think the signal is very good here, I think you said you want to offer me the job."

Laughing he looked down at Chloe in his arms as she kicked her legs at the sudden noise, "nope, the signal is perfectly fine as that is basically what I said. Can you come over later or tomorrow so we can just finalise details so you can start soon please?"

Biting down on her lip she sighed, "I can't come until Saturday. I'm working until late tonight and then I'm working all day tomorrow and there won't be enough time for me to get from yours to my work before my shift starts."

Hearing Stephanie making excuses Gino walked over to her, "you can do tomorrow morning, we can cope as long as you're back for six."

Paul was about to reluctantly agree that Saturday would have to do when he heard talking in the background so kept quiet and waited for her to speak again.

Staring at Gino as he said that she frowned, "are you sure? I don't want to make things difficult for you."

Smiling softly at her she was so sweet but she had to come first, "we'll be fine. You must do what you need to do for this job."

Leaning closer to him she kissed his cheek, "thank you Gino, you're the best." Turning her attention back to the phone she said, "things have changed. I can do tomorrow morning if that's suitable for you."

"Tomorrow morning is definitely suitable for me. I will be home all morning so whatever time you want to come by is fine. Please bring your driving license and bank details with you."

Not entirely sure why he wanted her driving license and bank details she really couldn't stay and ask because she needed to get back to work so just accepted it, "sure. I will see you in the morning, thank you Mr . . . Paul."

Laughing softly he smiled, "I think I should be thanking you Stephanie. We will see you in the morning though."

"Bye."

Hanging up the phone she slid it back into her pocket and walked back over to the pass to pick up the plates, "thank you Gino. What table are these going to?"

Smiling at her this was a bitter sweet moment as he knew it was the beginning of the end for her working here, "table 6."

Taking the plates she took the plates out to the dining room to go back to doing her job not taking a moment to think about the fact that she actually had a new job and would be able to stay in New York now.

As soon as the call ended Paul tossed the phone onto the desk and picked Chloe up in his arms so she was looking at him, "you have yourself a Nanny who you will love and I will be able to do my work and enjoy being a Daddy to you."

Moving her closer to him he kissed her cheek before he held her against his chest as she lay her head on his shoulder.

Stephanie hadn't had a moment to stop and really think about the fact that she had a new job and would have to leave this one until she saw Tyler and Jade walk in the door and she realised that she would no longer have these moments.

Having waited all day for news from Stephanie about the job by the time she picked Tyler up from school Jade was dying to know so decided to swing by the café again and ask her outright if she had heard anything from him yet.

As they walked into the café she noticed that her best friend's face fell and she was worried that she had cost her the job with all of the gushing.

Making her way over to Stephanie she decided to play it cool, "one coffee and one milkshake please."

Unable to stop herself Stephanie bent down and hugged Tyler tightly, "I'm going to miss this."

She couldn't stop herself, she'd put it in front of her and she just couldn't do anything but to take it, "why are you going to miss this? Are you leaving?"

Smiling softly she nodded, "yes and no."

Jade grumbled, "can't I just kidnap you and force you to tell me the truth like right now?"

Laughing softly she wished she could stop, "I would love to stop and tell you everything but I'm working and I can't do both. Take a seat and I will get your drinks though."

Nodding her head there was nothing she could do to force her to be able to take a break and to stop her mind racing three thousand miles a second so she went and took a seat by the window as she liked people watching.

With work slowing down Stephanie walked into the kitchen, "Gino can we talk?"

Smiling softly he nodded his head passing off the pans to his right hand man, "you can have as long as it will take to cook your dinner. What would you like?"

Laughing softly she thought briefly, "cheese and tomato pizza please."

Turning to give the orders he didn't need to as he saw them beginning to work on it so he turned back to Stephanie, "what can I do for you?"

Biting her lip they stood out of the way of people, "I need to know how much notice you need me to give you before I can start my new job?"

He knew from personal experience how difficult it was with a young baby so he wasn't going to be awkward, "I only need you to work this weekend and if he needs you then you can start on Monday or if he doesn't then you can still work here. I will put up a sign after lunch looking for help but you will always have a home and a job here and we will always be here for you and hopefully you will come and visit us as much as possible."

Nodding her head she threw her arms around his neck trying so hard not to cry knowing this was the end of an era, "I promise I will come by and visit and providing Paul doesn't mind I might bring Chloe for a visit or I might rope him in to come with us."

Laughing softly Gino hugged her back, "well you have got my cell phone number so you can always call me if you need **anything** okay?"

"I know and thank you, I can't thank you or your family enough, you have been so warm and welcoming and you have made even the darkest of days so much brighter."

Wiping at the tears on her cheeks he smiled softly, "don't cry, this isn't 'goodbye' it is just 'see you later' because you can never get rid of your family. You'd better go and eat, I don't want you collapsing on me."

Taking the now cooked pizza she walked out into the dining room and put it on a tray before she made a cup of coffee and a chocolate and a strawberry milkshake placing them all on the tray and carried it over to Jade carefully setting it all down, "looks like it's my break time."

Jade couldn't be happier, "about damn time. Sit down and tell me what's going on."

Laughing she quickly put the tray away before she took a seat at the table and picked up a slice of pizza, "I got the job."

Squealing with delight she put her hands up in defence at the dirty looks she got, "what? Sue me for being excited that my best friend has a new job and is staying in the state."

Reaching across the table Stephanie gently slapped Jade's arm, "shush, I don't want the world knowing as I have yet to tell my Mom."

Smirking she sat back in her chair, "oh I would love to be there for that phone call. So tell me, what did he say? When did he call?"

Rolling her eyes there was not a lot to say, "he called at lunchtime and he basically just said that I had the job and asked me to go over so we can finalise the details of my employment. I am going over tomorrow morning so I will know then when I start work. I'm going to miss seeing you guys here, it's going to be really hard to see you."

"No it won't, we will make time for each other as we love each other and we're sisters and you know you can't stay away from me."

Laughing she shook her head at her best friend but noticed the way Tyler was eyeing her pizza, "you can have a piece if you want Ty, as long as your Mom doesn't mind."

Shaking her head Jade didn't mind, "as long as we're not taking food from you."

"No no, it's okay. I've got a new job and hopefully I will be able to afford actual food now so go right ahead."

Seeing the tentative look on Tyler's face still Jade took a piece of pizza from the plate and handed it to him, "what do you say?"

Smiling sweetly he said, "fank you Auntie Stephy."

Leaning over she kissed the top of his head, "you're welcome handsome." Turning her attention back to Jade she bit her lip, "so he wants my bank details, that makes me nervous."

Confused Jade raised her eyebrow, "are you worried he'll see how little money you have and not offer you the job?"

"I wasn't but now I am. Seriously though, what could he want with them?"

Shrugging her shoulders she didn't actually know, "maybe he wants to easily transfer the money to your account each week/month when he pays you rather than you having to cash a cheque? I don't know Steph, you'll have to ask him. Does he seem a sinister type of guy?"

Shaking her head she hadn't got that vibe from him, "well no, not that I know of him but anybody is capable of anything."

"Don't worry about it, it's not like you have money he can steal. I do have one seriously big question though, is this new job going to prevent you from watching Tyler if necessary?"

Sighing heavily she felt bad as she hadn't even thought about Jade in all of the excitement, "truthfully I don't know? Maybe he'll be cool about it and will let me watch the both of them? I mean it's not like you'll need me a lot, it would only be the odd occasion if you need me at all. I will talk to him tomorrow so we both know where we stand."

Taking a sip of her coffee Jade nodded her head, she was so excited for her friend and so grateful that she would be staying around but the selfish part of her wondered what it meant for her and Tyler.

Turning her attention to Tyler she wanted to make the most of this short time she had with him because she truthfully didn't know how much she would get to see of him from now on but she was so excited for this next chapter of her life.


	9. Chapter 9

Stephanie was up at half past seven and showered and washed her hair so she looked clean for her meeting with Paul, she was thinking about wearing a suit to meet with him but then she didn't want to seem too eager or overdressed so she went with her work clothes as that was smart casual.

After getting dressed she had some breakfast before she headed out to get to his place as early as possible so she hopefully didn't inconvenience Gino too much by being really late even though he said he had it covered.

Staring at the clock Paul wondered if the rest of his life was going to be spent like this. He was exhausted, Chloe had been really unsettled all night so he had got very little sleep however he had managed to get a lot more of his work done so now he only needed a few more good hours of work and it would be done and he could get it sent off before the deadline.

Rubbing his face wearily as he looked at his now sleeping daughter he padded into the kitchen to make some coffee, a nice big steaming jug of coffee at that. It made perfect sense that Chloe would actually fall fast asleep when he had to be up and about, it just couldn't work out that she would sleep when he could and be fussy during the day.

Sitting down at his computer with a strong cup of coffee he decided to get some work done as he drank his coffee before he showered and thought about having something more substantial than coffee for breakfast.

Arriving at Paul's house just about quarter past nine she gulped as she looked up at the house in front of her, she was so nervous but it was the best decision she could make for herself and her future. Taking a deep breath she walked down the drive and rang the doorbell hoping she didn't come face to face with the wife because she wasn't looking forward to that.

He hadn't gotten much work done when the doorbell rang, he wasn't sure who it would be but if it was Stephanie then he would be okay with that. Checking on Chloe as he walked past he rolled his eyes seeing she was still fast asleep and went and pulled the door open smiling when he saw Stephanie, "hey."

Shoving her hands in her pockets she bit her lip nervously, "hi. You haven't changed your mind right?"

Shaking his head he had to try really hard to stifle a yawn, "no I haven't. Come in and we will sort out the finer details of your employment."

Stepping inside she couldn't help but notice how tired he looked, "is everything okay? You look exhausted."

Shutting the door behind her he leant against it, "I'm okay, just really tired. Chloe thought it would be really funny to be fussy all night so I barely got any sleep and I have a job deadline at 5pm tonight and I still have a few hours of work left to do on it so I am a little stressed and I know that despite Chloe being asleep now the second I properly sit down to do my work she will wake up and I won't finish it in time."

Before she thought about what she was saying the words just came out of her mouth, "she probably kept you up because she could sense the change coming and was just unsettled. If it is just a couple of hours then I could stick around and get to know the house and Chloe and watch her whilst you do your work if you want?"

Looking at her like she was crazy he shook his head, "I couldn't ask that of you, you have your other job to go to."

"My boss said that as long as I'm there by the evening service then I can take as long as I need so I would be willing to give you until three just to give me time to get across town and get something to eat."

This would work out really well for the both of them, "that would be great if you're willing. Would you want to be paid for it? I'm not asking you to do it for free, I just don't really know what you want or are expecting as we hadn't discussed things yet."

Laughing softly she shook her head, "I would do it for free, I'm technically not officially working for you yet so it is simply an opportunity for me to get to know Chloe and your house and if you just so happen to be able to get some work done then it is a bonus. Let's finalise this stuff so you can get your work done."

Stepping away from the door he put his hand on her lower back and led her through to the lounge, "take a seat. I have gone to the liberty of drawing up a simple contract that is not legally binding but it sets out what I expect from you, what you will get paid and the general hours you will be expected to work."

As he led her through the house she felt the heat of his hand burning against her back and this was after the initial jolt that went through her body the second he touched her. Taking a seat on the couch she picked up the contract and read it through immediately finding something of surprise to her, "seventeen dollars an hour?! Is this a typo?"

Sitting down opposite her he laughed at the question, "no typo. I did some research on what Nannies are normally paid and adjusted it to what I felt was suitable for this job. If it is not enough then we can negotiate a higher price."

Looking at him like he was crazy this was over double what she was currently earning, "no . . . no this is fine, I was just surprised by how high it is." Reading through the rest of the contract it seemed okay to her, "in the contract you say I will be granted access to one of the cars, is this why you wanted my driving license?"

Nodding his head he tried to think of a way of wording it without sounding insulting, "I needed to check your license was current and I needed to know the data on it so I could add you to the insurance policy so you could drive the cars. Did you bring your bank details also please? At the end of each week or month, whichever you would prefer, I will transfer the money directly into your account so it is free to use immediately and you don't have to wait for a cheque to clear."

Hearing him say that she was more relieved about giving him her bank details, "could we start with weekly and then if that doesn't work change it to monthly please? Also, if you need me to stay overnight to watch Chloe will I get paid for those? Where would I sleep? How are we going to keep track of what I am working?"

All of the questions being thrown at him at once threw him as the words all became jumbled in his head and he sat back until it all made sense again, "whatever works for you with regards to how you are paid. If you stay overnight of course you will be paid for it, I was thinking that maybe I wouldn't pay you if it was a simple case of you staying over because I got in late and not wanting you to travel across town alone late at night because I wouldn't expect you to get up in the night with Chloe if I was here. You can have one of the guest rooms, I have enough of them. Maybe we could have a log book where you basically sign in what time it is when you arrive and begin work and then sign out with what time it is when you leave? That way we can both see in front of us how long you have worked and how much you should be paid."

Talking to him was amazing, he was so accommodating and easily answered all of her questions without question or any form of disdain, "all of that sounds fair to me. To be honest if I do stay over and you're here there is a chance I will get up anyway simply because I have been programmed to wake up when a baby cries because of Tyler but I obviously wouldn't expect to be paid. Keeping a log book works for me, it makes it easy for both of us. Do you have any sort of book that you use to keep track of Chloe's feeds? I'm only asking because I don't want there to be any misunderstandings between us as we're both taking care of her and when I was helping Jade out we found we got confused so began one and it worked well for us, I'm not saying it would work well for you and I but you might have one already, I don't know."

That was something he hadn't thought of but he definitely would think about it, "I'll think about it over the weekend and make a decision by Monday for you. Is the contract agreeable to you?"

Nodding her head she quickly signed it, "yes it is." Pulling her driving license, bank details and phone from her bag she passed him her driving license, the contract and her bank details, "can you give me your home number for me to put in my phone please? It's just incase I can't get you on your cell phone if I can't work or whatever."

Picking up the pieces of paper he stared at her phone which looked like it had seen better days, "so exactly what version of the iPhone is that?"

Laughing softly she shrugged, "one or two? I don't know, I bought it second hand when my last phone packed up as it was cheap and although it looks slightly battered it still does the job." She neglected to inform him she hadn't bought a new one as she couldn't afford one.

As much as he trusted that her phone worked he really wasn't comfortable with her using it so he would see about setting her up with a new phone on his plan when he was out doing his errands tomorrow but for now he gave her his phone number, "I see. I had better get on with my work so you can leave as soon as possible. Thank you for this, I really appreciate it but help yourself to drinks and snacks in the kitchen."

Smiling she was looking forward to having a bit of a look around the house when Chloe woke up to see what it was like.

Sitting comfortably on the couch she just relaxed not really sure if she was allowed to put the television on or not so she stayed in the quiet and just looked around her.

She had been sat in the quiet for about fifteen minutes when she heard Chloe begin to whimper so she moved closer to her bassinet waiting to see if she soothed herself and went back to sleep or if she began to cry. Her question was quickly answered when she began to cry so Stephanie carefully scooped her up into her arms, "why hello there pretty baby, remember me?"

Staring up at the strange woman Chloe lifted her hand and placed it on her face.

Feeling the small hand to her face Stephanie turned her head to the side and kissed her palm gently, "you and I will get to spend lots of time together but for now I think you have some making up to do with your Daddy so let's take him a peace offering."

Carrying Chloe through the house she went in search of the kitchen finding a few wrong rooms in the process but she got there in the end and was amazed by the size of it, it was huge, bright and the design was just beautiful. Walking over to the kettle she started it boiling whilst she went in search of a cup, the coffee and a spoon, "I don't suppose you can help me out here can you Chloe?" Receiving nothing but a kick of the legs in response she shook her head, "didn't think so."

Five cupboard and three drawers later and finally she had what she needed to make two cups of coffee so moving Chloe so she had her head resting on her shoulder she made two cups of coffee leaving one on the top and picking the other one up, "let's see if we can find your Daddy."

Carefully carrying Chloe and the coffee through the downstairs of the house she found a door slightly ajar and pushed it open with her shoulder relieved when she saw Paul saw at his desk, "I have a peace offering."

Jumping a little at the sound of a voice behind him Paul spun his chair around and smiled when he saw Stephanie with Chloe and a cup of coffee, "you're my hero."

Laughing she walked over and placed the coffee on the desk, "Chloe wanted to make it up to you for keeping you up all night."

Standing up he ran his hand gently over his daughter's head, "oh I'm sure she did, I'm sure it had absolutely nothing to do because she showed little remorse earlier but that's okay, I still love her to pieces. She seems really comfortable with you."

Gently placing her now free hand on Chloe's back Stephanie had to resist the natural reflex to shrug her shoulders, "she's just a really chilled baby, it has nothing to do with me. I was wondering if you had like a canvas sling I can carry Chloe in? I realise I'm asking you for a lot of things but it's not that I'm trying to spend your money, it just sometimes helps when you have stuff to do and the baby is really fussy and doesn't want to be left."

Nodding his head he knew where it was, "I do have one, I know where it is and will dig it out over the weekend for you. I had no idea how to use it so just left it in the packaging because I didn't want to use it improperly and hurt her."

"Well when you dig it out I will show you how to use it properly so then you can use it if you want to. We should let you get back to work now so we will go back into the lounge and enjoy the quietness."

Pressing a soft kiss to his daughter's head he shook his head, "you don't have to sit in silence, you can put the tv on if you want or you can grab the radio from the kitchen to play music if you'd prefer that. I am not any sort of monster okay? You can make as much noise as you want, well within reason, and do whatever the heck you want so stop stressing, just relax and treat this as your home."

Laughing she shook her head, "my apartment could fit in your lounge and entrance hall with space left over so your house is a little intimidating but I will try to relax if it will make you feel better."

"It will so thank you." When Chloe began crying he knew exactly what it was, "the nursery is up the stairs, turn left and it is third door on the right hand side."

Shifting Chloe a little in her arms she smiled gratefully, "thanks, I had enough trouble finding the kitchen, I don't think she'd want to have to wait another hour to get a diaper change whilst I found her nursery."

Sitting back down he watched as they left the room with a smile on his face, that was the kind of interaction he should have been having with his wife and daughter and not the Nanny and his daughter. Sighing heavily he turned back around to his desk and took a sip of his coffee before he got back to work.

Walking up the stairs Stephanie reached the top and looked around her, there were about a thousand rooms up here, she was definitely grateful for his directions. Following where he told her to go she pushed the door of the nursery open and immediately placed Chloe on the changing table to change her diaper. As soon as the diaper was changed she took a moment to look around at the room, it was beautifully decorated and had everything she could possibly need without the baby being a spoiled little brat. Picking up one of the cuddly toys from the crib she carried it back downstairs with her as she could use it to keep Chloe entertained.

Safe in the knowledge that Chloe was being well looked after Paul had put his head down and worked solidly for three hours before he finalised the plans and e-mailed them with a promise of a hard copy being posted the next day. Whilst the plans printed off he got up from his seat and went into the kitchen and made two ham sandwiches carrying them through to the lounge, "so I took a leap of faith that you're not a vegetarian and made you a ham sandwich."

Jumping at the sound of his voice she quickly scrambled off the floor where she had been laying beside Chloe playing with a toy for her feeling embarrassed at being caught in that predicament, "I'm not a vegetarian but you didn't have to do that."

Shrugging as he watched her scramble up before she picked Chloe up and put her back in her bassinet, "why not? You've worked hard this morning and I will be eternally grateful to you for allowing me to finish my work before my deadline this evening. Do I dare ask why you were both laying on the floor?"

Biting her lip nervously she looked down at the floor, "I just thought it would be less intimidating for Chloe if I was on her level laying down beside her rather than being above her. Thank you for the sandwich though, it's much appreciated but you really didn't have to."

Passing her her sandwich he took a seat, "well it's just the first of many meals you'll be eating here so it's really not a big deal, especially as it is just a sandwich and not some complicated meal. I just want to make it clear that I want you to help yourself to the food in the cupboards and the fridge, you're not to skip meals and you **must** make sure you have three meals a day even if you eat them all here. If there are any specific foods you like write them down on the shopping list pinned to the fridge and I will buy them when I next do a shop."

Shaking her head she took a seat, "I'm not fussed, I will just eat whatever you have in."

Eating their sandwiches together they shared a relaxed conversation about life in general and not just about Chloe. Once they had finished eating she stood back up, "okay so I will do the dishes and then I will leave you to it."

Sighing heavily he all but snatched the plate from her hand, "it's called a dishwasher, I have one."

Laughing she blushed, "sorry, it's a force of habit as I don't have one. I guess I will get going now but when do you actually want me to start?"

Setting the plates on the coffee table so he could show her out he felt bad for what he was about to ask because it was such short notice for her other job, "would eight o'clock Monday morning be too soon and too early for you? I have a meeting across town at around nine and it is a building site. I can drop Chloe at your place and I'll give you money so you can grab a cab back here if it's too early for you to get here by public transport."

Shaking her head she could do that, "that is fine, really it is. I will be here at eight o'clock on Monday morning for you." Walking over to the bassinet she quickly bent down and kissed Chloe's cheek, "see you Monday gorgeous." Standing up she followed Paul to the door.

Opening the door for her he couldn't be more grateful, "I just want to say thank you again for everything, I am pretty sure you're an angel sent from heaven or at least a life saver."

Laughing she shrugged, "I just love kids and love helping out so it was nothing, you really don't need to keep thanking me. I'll see you Monday but if you need me before then call me and I will see if I can help okay?"

Nodding his head he smiled, "I will, thank you. Have a good weekend and apologise to Gino for me please for keeping you today."

Not wanting to argue she smiled, "I will. Bye Paul."

"Goodbye Stephanie."

Watching as she walked away he shut the door firmly behind her to spend the rest of his day with his beautiful daughter.


End file.
